Germany Suspends Afghan Deportation after Kabul Bombing

Germany has temporarily suspended deportations of rejected Afghan asylum seekers in the wake of a deadly attack in  capital Kabul that killed at least 80 people and injured more over 400.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday that Germany will now deport to Afghanistan only criminals and people it considers a threat.

Merkel said deportations would now be considered case by case. Criminals and those deemed a threat – including people who refuse to reveal their identity – would be sent back. People who want to return to Afghanistan of their own free will be allowed to return.

 “A lesson learned from the Kabul blast is to restrict deportations to criminals for the moment”, Merkel said as cited by Aljazeera.

“The (foreign and interior) ministers aim to submit this new assessment by July at the latest,” she said, quoted by Reuters.

Merkel’s government began mass deportations of Afghans in December, after taking in more than a million refugees since the summer of 2015. 

Some 3,300 Afghan returned voluntarily in 2016 .  At least 67 people were deported to Afghanistan last year and more than 100 have been deported so far this year.